Henry Heimlich First Used His Famous Maneuver At Age 96

Dr. Henry Heimlich developed a technique for saving people from choking to death in 1974. The iconic maneuver is named for the thoracic surgeon, but until recently, Heimlich didn't even know if he could perform it successfully. In May of 2016, more than 40 years after Heimlich developed the Heimlich maneuver, he used it for the first time to save a life. While having dinner with some of his fellow residents at the Deupree House retirement home in Cincinnati, he noticed a woman at his table choking, and successfully dislodged a piece of meat with a bone in it from the airway of the 87-year-old woman. Heimlich, 96 at the time, told the BBC of his legendary maneuver: "I didn't know I really could do it until the other day."